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Compassion

I was born into a prominent fundamentalist family in 1950 and then grew up in the midst of cultural turmoil and massive social change. My granddad was John R. Rice, famous evangelist and editor of the influential Sword of the Lord newspaper, and my grandmother was Lloys Cooke Rice.

On entering the world of Elizabeth Marino’s new book Debris, we settle into a gentle, guided exploration of memory and desire, regret, intimation, and salvation. Her poetry calms the spirit, but it also challenges the heart. She challenges us to remember things of substance from our own lives; she challenges us to act without ever issuing a call to action.

In 2005 I produced a documentary film, Voices in Wartime, that uses poetry to explore the trauma of war, and over the past few years I have spent many hours talking to people about their experience of war. I’ve talked to classrooms full of students, and I’ve hosted community dialogues on war and trauma, and I’ve facilitated audience discussions after screenings of films about war.

Dear Andy -- I just finished reading the book today (I got bogged down making notes) and finally decided to just READ... At chapter 17 the book began to "soar" for me; I couldn't put it down until I finished. You have done a beautiful job. Some will be angry at what you share but many hearts will be touched. Perhaps you have, indeed, found what you were born to do!

Subtitled The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family, this book deals with the historical background which gave rise to Fundamentalism, the culture of Fundamentalism, the battles of Fundamentalism, and the relationship of all of these to the Rice family. Andrew Himes, grandson of famed evangelist John R. Rice, writes with amazing honesty about his feelings and struggles with Fundamentalism. Each chapter opens with some sort of personal anecdote before delving into the history, happenings, ideas, and personalities of Fundamentalism.

(Excerpt from Chapter 27 of The Sword of the Lord.) A century ago, in some sense the original Christian fundamentalists were asking a fundamental question. The core impulse that gave rise to fundamentalism was a healthy one: rediscover and cherish the essence of Christianity. In 1909, A. C. Dixon and R. A.

Now that the Black Nativity show is finished (we had our last performance on Sunday) and I am no longer singing in the choir every two days or so, I can rest a bit and reflect on what I've learned over the past 6 weeks. I know I'll cherish the experience of singing these amazing gospel songs with a talented African-American choir, and being on stage with a dozen stunning dancers and five extraordinary musicians. But what will remain with me as deep life lessons are remarks made by two of the directors of Black Nativity.

Cameron Penny's poem

If you are lucky in this life,A window will appear on a battlefield between two armies.And when the soldiers look into the windowThey don’t see their enemies.They see themselves as children.And they stop fightingAnd go home and go to sleep. When they wake up, the land is well again.

Cameron Penny's If You Are Lucky in This Life was originally published in the November/December 2001 issue of North American Review. Marie Howe reads his poem in the film Voices in Wartime.